Kerry defended this by insisting that Assad “refuses to negotiate a political solution,” going on to say that he “isn’t going to come and negotiate and he’s just going to kill his people.” He suggested more US support would be offered at tomorrow’s Syrian rebel conference in Rome.

The admonishments of Assad are particularly oddly timed because the Assad government offered talks only yesterday, with the rebels angrily rejecting the offer, as they have several other offers in the past.

Indeed, Kerry was clearly aware of this fact, because he condemned the Assad government for offering the negotiations in the first place, insisting that offers weren’t to be taken seriously. Perhaps the biggest problem with the offer is that it really undercut Kerry’s talking points for today’s Berlin speech, but that doesn’t appear to have altered its content.

Those who thought that orchestrated Syrian war by hillary clinton and illigitimate kings of uae, the saudis and europeans was winnabl.., have changed their thinking by now.., most of the Europeans have come to their senses not to provide the arms that is already in hand of their beloved terrorists in Syria.., so the only friend that these bandits have left is US state department.., not the American people.., but the government. Yet.., Europe managed to get its anti missiles stationed in turkey.., that's all they get out of this war after killing of almost 80 thousand Syrians and displacing million of people.., leave a ruined country.., and nothing to gain for these bandits to look forward to.., is time for peace and is time for these idiots stop fighting.

You either joking or mean what you are saying.., if thats the case.., saying what is in your mind.., then you forgot to mention that these bandits.., are also fighting for democracy "Saudis style" in Syria…, so they need to get the support they are asking for via Saudi Arabia and for US to provide such support by non then Kerry..,this policy.., if you can call it that…, is indicating the fact that US and England are in war with Syrian people because US and England has been asked by the Saudis and UAE to fight for yet another democracy Saudi style in middle east.., hey don't get me wrong, I am against dictatorial-apartheid regime as well as a regime which teaches children to behead a 50 years old man…, such regimes don't deserve anything but named bandits.

These "bandits" are hired mercenaries and terrorists from countries outside of Syria. They are despised by the Syrian people as well as anyone on this planet with a spark of humanity and a bit of discernment. This is war by proxy, having NOTHING to do with promoting freedom, dignity, or human rights – except that these are all being destroyed in the process.

AndSoItGoes

Some of the 'rebels' are indeed Syrians who are fighting for freedom against the Assad regimes that have ruled them with an iron fist for decades.

Their dreams will be crushed and they'll be pushed aside in the power struggle that follows the fall of the Assad regime.

mojo

Those who thought that orchestrated Syrian war by hillary clinton and illigitimate kings of uae, the saudis and europeans was winnabl.., have changed their thinking by now.., most of the Europeans have come to their senses not to provide the arms that is already in hand of their beloved terrorists in Syria.., so the only friend that these bandits have left is US state department.., not the American people.., but the government. Yet.., Europe managed to get its anti missiles stationed in turkey.., that's all they get out of this war after killing of almost 80 thousand Syrians and displacing million of people.., leave a ruined country.., and nothing to gain for these bandits to look forward to.., is time for peace and is time for these idiots stop fighting.

Loose Savage

What Kerry meant was that Assad refuses to capitulate. Tomorrow's conference won't be the first mercenary invasion managed out of Rome.

Hiroshima

I guess anyone who blows up innocent people in the name of the United Snakes of Amerikkka, a repulsive entity they call "God" and Zionism "deserves" US support. "Democracy" and "birth pangs" in action. If the death squads in south America could, why not these retarded apes and those paragons of "democracy" monarchies in the Persian Gulf?

nomange

That Kerry should be so blatantly disingenuous is getting him off to absolutely the wrong foot as he begins his service as Secretary of State. Instead of a policy change from the disaster of Hillary Clinton, Susan Rice and Leon Panetta that one had (audaciously) hoped for, are we going to see more of the same? This will not only have consequences with Syria, it will have consequences with his negotiations with Iran. If it all turns out to be a charade and set-up, then what do we have to look forward to? An acceleration of regional conflict? War against Iran? Israel sucking the American economy of more treasure as its agenda continues to be promoted at the expense of U.S. national interest? It is a supreme irony that Russia and China are the two major nations upholding the UN Charter and the rule of international law to bring some measure of justice and stability to the region while the US and NATO are trying to shred it and create more chaos and suffering? As Pepe Escobar suggested, the Hollywood Oscars with Michelle Obama attending, and the awards to Argo, Django Unchained and Lincoln melded Hollywood propaganda with the Administration's and thus should be a clue of future policy toward Iran, the Middle East, (and Africa and Central and East Asia), and it's not pretty to contemplate.

nomange

That Kerry should be so blatantly disingenuous is getting him off to absolutely the wrong foot as he begins his service as Secretary of State. Instead of a policy change from the disaster of Hillary Clinton, Susan Rice and Leon Panetta that one had (audaciously) hoped for, are we going to see more of the same? This will not only have consequences with Syria, it will have consequences with his negotiations with Iran. If it all turns out to be a charade and set-up, then what do we have to look forward to? An acceleration of regional conflict? War against Iran? Israel sucking the American economy of more treasure as its agenda continues to be promoted at the expense of U.S. national interest? It is a supreme irony that Russia and China are the two major nations upholding the UN Charter and the rule of international law to bring some measure of justice and stability to the region while the US and NATO are trying to shred it and create more chaos and suffering? As Pepe Escobar suggested, the Hollywood Oscars with Michelle Obama attending, and the awards to Argo, Django Unchained and Lincoln melded Hollywood propaganda with the Administration's and thus should be a clue of future policy toward Iran, the Middle East, (and Africa and Central and East Asia), and it's not pretty to contemplate.

nomange

A further point. One hopes that Kerry would instead take heed of the advice of his father, the Foreign Service officer Richard Kerry in "The Star Spangled Mirror", which cautioned against the notion of "American Exceptionalism". The book has been described by one commentator as a brief against neoconservatism.
(See: "Kerry's World: Father Knows Best" by Franklin Foer at: http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-215_162-603542.html )

America's planned intrusion into Syria was very much a neoconservative plan, except that the
spreading of "democracy" and "human rights" was never the primary objective.

97Pct

Since the American people have voted for no policy change at all every since 9-11, then there was no reason to thing at all that the reshuffling of the cabinet after the election would result in a policy change. There were candidates on the 2012 ballot that if they'd been elected President would have changed the course of US policy, but the American people gave them 3% or less of the vote.

If you focus on Hillary, Condi or Susan Rice, Panetta, Gates, Kerry, Rumsfeld et al, then you are missing the point. These people all serve at the pleasure of the President and can be asked to resign by his Potus any time he chooses to do so.

Augustbrhm

He wants the destruction,murder,genocide, which is america`s mantra to continue and arms sales will continue a war criminal like all the rest.

JoaoAlfaiate

Bend over Syria, here we come!

didi

It was appropriate that he made the remarks in Berlin, the capital of the state that interfered in the Spanish Civil War.

Was there a state of any significant international power that DIDN'T interfere in the Spanish Civil War?

Ben_C

There are 'limits' to everything…

The 'Holocaust' seems to be a universally understood 'limit'…

Knowingly, and willingly, arming mercenary terrorists, and continuing to do so…in fact: recruiting and encouraging more criminal mercenary terrorists to get actively involved in Syria–for whatever reason–is just flat out "wrong"…

As said: this is kind of like the gas chambers during WWII… The way this is being 'handled' is well beyond "Vietnam" in the sense of moral bankruptcy. With 'Vietnam' there was at least some sort of pretend "noble cause"… This "situation" in Syrian is now (as it's always been) clearly extortion…there are no 'ifs,.ands. or buts' about it at this point.

Talk to any so-called "realist" about the gas chambers, and 'rationality' and 'national interest', and see what they come up with… This would make for an interesting Senate confirmation hearing indeed…

Not that's it's even relevant or applicable, but perhaps the 'Jabhat al-Nusra', or any of the other various criminal terrorist gangs currently operating in Syria, meet the criteria of a "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state" mentioned in the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution. I seriously doubt any of the so-called 'Founders', or any reasonable person for that matter, would agree–but who knows???

ML3

"Knowingly, and willingly, arming mercenary terrorists, and continuing to do so…in fact: recruiting and encouraging more criminal mercenary terrorists to get actively involved in Syria–for whatever reason–is just flat out "wrong"…"

Didn't we do the same thing in Central America in the 1980's?

Ben_C

This is on a completely different scale.

The US has a policy of a so-called "war on terrorism"; however, the US is now actually knowingly using the terrorists we are supposed to be "at war" with to destabilize states which pose no real "threat" to the US–because it is politically more convenient than putting US "boots on the ground"… On top of everything, all of this is widely known and pretty much out in the open…and even on YouTube–decapitations and all. This is complete insanity.

What exactly is the US trying to accomplish here?

Does the US simply want to create terrorists so there are people to bomb in the future?

There doesn't even seem to be a clear and serious game-plan here by the US–other than destabilize and weaken Syria via terrorism. The new Syrian "government" recognized by the US isn't even located inside Syria. These idiots have no chance of running Syria–I doubt they would last 5 seconds –even if the entire "Assad Regime" disappeared tomorrow–which is probably why they are not currently located inside Syria.

Is Libya a unified, sovereign, and stable nation at present?

The US has consistently undermined any real "political solution" at every opportunity–so they must like what this so-called "revolution" has produced so far…which is armed radical extremists who are openly threatening to wipe out entire ethnic and religious groups via the lame-stream media and committing terrorism such as bombing Universities and massacring civilians to blame it on the government.

I don't think this quite compares with CIA backed guerrilla wars in the 1980s–especially considering the US wasn't supposedly "at war" with the guerrilla fighters.

Ben_C

This is on a completely different scale.

The US has a policy of a so-called "war on terrorism"; however, the US is now actually knowingly using the terrorists we are supposed to be "at war" with to destabilize states which pose no real "threat" to the US–because it is politically more convenient than putting US "boots on the ground"…

What exactly is the US trying to accomplish here?

Does the US simply want to create terrorists so there are people to bomb in the future?

There doesn't seem to be a clear and serious game-plan–other than destabilize and weaken Syria via terrorism. The new Syrian "government" recognized by the US isn't even located inside Syria. These idiots have no chance of running Syria–I doubt they would last 5 seconds –even if the entire "Assad Regime" disappeared tomorrow–which is probably why they are not currently located inside Syria.

Is Libya a unified, sovereign, and stable nation at present?

The US has consistently undermined any real "political solution" at every opportunity–so they must like what this so-called "revolution" has produced so far…which is armed radical extremists who are openly, via the lame-stream media, threatening to wipe out entire ethnic and religious groups and committing terrorism such as bombing Universities and massacring civilians to blame it on the government.

I don't think this quite compares with CIA backed guerrilla wars in the 1980s–especially considering the US wasn't supposedly "at war" with the guerrilla fighters.

On top of everything, all of this is widely known and pretty much out in the open…and even on YouTube–decapitations and all. This is complete insanity.

John Watson

John Kerry, who looks very much like somebody who is mentally retarded, is clearly waging war against Syria.
Consequently, Syria has every reason to launch a n attack against the USA, just as the USA would have every reason to attack Mars, should Mars attack the US.

The only reason they are saying this stuff now is because it's become increasingly difficult to hide their direct participation when their proxies keep turning up on youtube toting M-16s, Stingers, Motorola Radios, Columbia Sportswear, etc, etc.

hannibal

i am sorry to say it but every US intervention has been a failure. vietnam, iraq, afghanistan, etc… syrian rebels are a pure al quaida, for now the problems seam far from the US land, but one dat it will closer.

ML3

Of course Lurch would say that in support of these pet "rebels" I mean, freedom fighters – – – I mean "terrorists." I predicted easily he would be Hillary with a penis.
His nomination sailed thru because he was pro-Israel and it gives the GOP a seat to go after in the midterm elections.

mojo

To Ben C.., why don't you come out and say it as it is…, not going to what once was.., say it Ben.., these regimes are nothing but a modernized liberal fascism acting on behalf of Neo nazism.., these regimes are there to protect the vulture capitalism economic system which feeds them.., to create proxy wars, unjust sanctions and austerity is part of the contract signed by these Neo regimes.., the system starving its own people calling it austerity.., which is fancier name for bankrupt economic system demanding for a brutal social political and economics system to be adopted by these Neo liberal fascism. These regimes will respect the following 1: supremacy 2: militarism.., these regime have no idea nor they understand the following words A: integrity B: humanity C: functioning democracy D: economic social justice E: justice for all.., nor any other matters in regard to the word people's and peoples welfare.

CanuckBC

Kerry can not do anything other that what Hillary was doing. How, for god sake you want to have enough bodies on drone kill list if we kill all the terrorists at once. We must first to baby them so they can grow stronger and mature enough to be added to kill list. How we can help our friends producing all those beautiful arms if we do not use them one way or other? We have to arm these idiots s we can use some money to buy those arms and it is even more profitable in cases like this, when recipients of our arms are clearly terrorists so we can later buy some arms to kill them.

It's economy stupid, quipped Bill Clinton and then run 78 days onslaught on Yugoslavia just to move that economy.